Japan Airlines will replace 787s on flights between Tokyo
and Delhi with 777s starting Nov. 25, and will switch to 767s on
its Tokyo-Singapore route the same day, it said in a statement
today.

Boeing told customers with some GE-powered engines to avoid
flying within 50 nautical miles (93 kilometers) of thunderstorms
to reduce chances of ice crystals forming in the engines and
reducing thrust, the planemaker said in an e-mailed statement
today. The 787 had problems with its battery earlier this year
that led to the plane being grounded for more than three months.

“There may be cases where we wouldn’t be able to go all
the way round the cloud formation and we’d have to turn back,”
Yuichi Kitada, a general manager in JAL’s engineering
department, said today in Tokyo. “We’re at the first step of
discussing a solution to this problem with Boeing and GE.”

Boeing spokeswoman Yvonne Leach said the company alerted
carriers and freight operators of 747-8s and 787s with GE
engines, without specifying how many that was.

There have been six cases since April of planes with GEnx
engines temporarily losing thrust in high-altitude icing
conditions, according to an e-mailed statement from GE. Boeing
said it will “work closely” with GE to address the issue.

The Fairfield, Connecticut-based company is working on
software modifications to eliminate the problem and expects them
to be available in the first quarter of next year, the statement
said.

ANA Holdings Inc., the world’s biggest operator of 787s,
uses Rolls-Royce Holdings Plc engines on its Dreamliners and
hasn’t received any notification to avoid certain weather
conditions, Maho Ito, a spokeswoman for the carrier, said by
phone.